Windows 8.1 Still Not Enough to Convert Windows 7 Users

Windows 7 gains share in November

There wasn't a ton of movement in Windows market share last month, but what little there was, Microsoft has reason to be both encouraged and perplexed. Starting with the former, Microsoft can feel somewhat encouraged that Windows 8 continues to gain ground, at least if you factor in Windows 8.1. By itself, Windows 8 dropped from 7.53 percent in October to 6.66 percent in November, but once you throw Windows 8.1's 2.64 percent share into the mix, the tally comes to 9.3 percent.

That's a net gain compared to October, but it's not as though users of olders versions of Windows are all that anxious to upgrade. Windows Vista saw only a small decline, dropping from 3.63 percent in October to 3.57 percent in November, while Windows XP users saw an even smaller dip, going from 31.24 percent to 31.22 percent during the same time period. Between the two, those figures add up to a .08 percent combined drop in share.

Likewise, Windows 7 barely moved the needle, though what little movement there was went in the opposite direction. Rather than losing market share, Windows 7 increased its presence from 46.42 percent in October to 46.64 percent in November, a gain of 0.22 percent.